Oita International Charity Bike Ride 2007
What? The 2007 Oita International Charity Bike Ride is now over! This website is here to inform people about the ride, and provide information which might be useful to future rides. The basic idea of the bike ride is to cycle around 300km in 3 days through the beautiful countryside of Oita prefecture and raise loads of money for charity in the process. Who? Anybody is welcome to take part but primarily the riders and volunteers are Oita JETs, their friends and teachers, however JETs from other prefectures are more than welcome! Between 20-40 people have been involved in previous years. This includes riders to raise money and do the cycling and volunteers to drive the support vehicles and provide general encouragement. Japanese friends, colleagues and teachers are also invited and add an international flavour to proceedings. Where? On the 2007 course we left from Beppu on Day 1, cycling north along the coast to Kunisaki, where we stayed in a youth hostel in Kunimi. Day 2 saw us head west past Usa and on to Yabakei where we stayed at a cycling terminal. Day 3 saw us peddle our tired legs from Yabakei back to Beppu. When? March 17th, 18th & 19th (Sat, Sun, Mon) 2007 - taking one day of nenkyu (paid holiday) on the Monday. How? All riders will needed a bike with gears to use for the three days - mama-charis were out! Unfortunately we could not provide bikes and asked participants to beg, steal or borrow one from their friends or colleagues. Each participant paid a 15,000 yen fee which covered both night's accommodation, breakfast and dinner, snacks and drinks, petrol money for volunteers and a fantastic bike ride T-shirt. Why? In 2007 we raised over 240,000 yen for our Oita AJET charity Room to Read which aims to build schools and libraries in South-East Asia. In 2006 the money raised by the bike ride help us reach our goal of 1.4 million yen, and a school was built in Vietnam! Aside from the charitable aspect, it's also great fun! It's a perfect opportunity to get out of your local town and see some more of Oita Prefecture, while meeting new people and making friends at the same time. It's one of the most memorable JET events that you can take part in. Testimonials "Believe it or not, but I wasn't all that keen on riding a bike before I did the first one, but the beautiful scenery, the convenience of having all your accommodation, food, luggage looked after, the bonding with virtual strangers as you cried your way up another hill (Don't worry I'm sure this year has no hills at all!!) and of course the snack packs, changed my opinion on biking forever. It's definitely one of the best ways to see parts of your ken that you would normally just drive through. It impresses the pants of your students and teachers, they will think you are superman, superwoman or just supercrazy. You'll feel the virtue of raising money for charity (it will make a difference!) and getting some intense exercise. And did I mention the snack packs?", Emma Stringer (Organiser 2006) "It's such a fun adventure and though it seems intimidating it really is a thrilling experience. I highly recommend it!", Tom Collins (Rider 2006) Contact us Category:Events 2007/03/17 Category:Oita International Charity Bike Ride